DocTIS single-cell atlas presented at ACR Convergence 2025
The DocTIS project made a remarkable appearance at ACR Convergence 2025, the world’s leading rheumatology meeting, held from 24 to 29 October 2025 in Chicago, USA. The participant investigators presented its study “DocTIS: A single-cell RNA-seq atlas of drug response to targeted therapies” during the Genetics, genomics and proteomics poster session.
A milestone in understanding immune-mediated inflammatory diseases
The DocTIS study marked a significant step forward in research on immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Using large-scale single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq), it generated more than two million single-cell transcriptomes from 176 patients and eight healthy controls. Samples were collected at two time points, before treatment and at the moment of clinical response, allowing researchers to capture how immune cells changed as therapies took effect.
The study examined responses to six commonly used targeted therapies that block key molecules involved in inflammation. By comparing data across diseases such as psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus, the work revealed distinct immune patterns and regulatory mechanisms that explain why patients respond differently to these treatments.
The analysis confirmed well-known features, such as the interferon response signature that characterises multiple immune cell types in systemic lupus erythematosus, while also uncovering novel regulatory differences between diseases that share genetic risk factors, such as psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis. These discoveries provided new insights into the cellular and molecular diversity of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases, identifying disease-specific immune signatures linked to treatment efficacy. The resulting atlas became a valuable resource to understand disease heterogeneity and to advance the development of more precise and personalised therapies.
Positive reception and strong interest
“The presentation of the DocTIS poster was a success, with around 40 people coming to ask questions during the two-hour session”, said Dr Antonio Julià. “There was strong interest from clinicians, basic researchers and industry representatives, including major pharmaceutical and biotech companies”. Dr Sara Marsal, coordinator of DocTIS project said,“I think the main takeaway is that this European project has generated a unique resource that appeals to both academic and industrial sectors”.
The lively discussion reflected the scientific community’s recognition of the DocTIS atlas as a pioneering contribution to understanding drug response in complex immune disorders.
About ACR Convergence
ACR Convergence is the annual meeting of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), a professional organisation founded in 1934 that represents more than 10,500 physicians, scientists and health professionals worldwide. The ACR provides education, research support, advocacy and practice management resources to advance rheumatology and improve patient care.
The 2025 edition brought together more than 13,000 participants from across the globe, reaffirming its role as the premier international forum for sharing the latest scientific advances in rheumatology.
Coordinated by the Vall d’Hebron Research Institute, VHIR (Sara Marsal), the DocTIS consortium brings together Cardiff University (Ernest Choy), the University of Verona (Giampiero Girolomoni), Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Britta Siegmund), the Institut d’Investigacions Biomèdiques August Pi i Sunyer, IDIBAPS (Pere Santamaria), the National Center for Genomic Analysis, CNAG (Holger Heyn), IMIDomics Inc. (Manuel Lopez-Figueroa), HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology (Richard M. Myers) and Zabala Innovation.
